


The Stars Look Very Different Today

by Wolfsheart



Category: X-Men (Comicverse)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Father-son-son relationship, Gen, Roadtrip, brothers (sort of), do we count them as brothers, don't make me pull this spaceship over, our father's a space pirate, space roadtrip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 07:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1771498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfsheart/pseuds/Wolfsheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When teen Scott decides to go on a space road trip with his father, adult Scott goes along for a much-needed break from Earth and the new Xavier School.  Much hilarity ensues as Corsair tries to be a good father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stars Look Very Different Today

**Author's Note:**

> This references the new Cyclops title written by Greg Rucka. 
> 
> Title comes from David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” July 1969.
> 
> This fic doesn't fall into my AU-niverse.

*

“I don’t understand why _you_ get to come along.  Don’t you have...a mutant revolution to lead?  People to kill?” 

“You really never get tired of parroting what Hank and Logan brainwashed you with, do you?” 

“Hmph.  You oughta know.  I’m you...you’re me.” 

Christopher Summers, known in his preferred circles – and not so preferred ones – as Corsair, just groaned and resisted the urge to facepalm as he listened to his two sons...his two _same_ sons...bicker like siblings.  He looked over the checklist he’d made.  Or rather, he’d scribbled notes on a bar napkin, and Hepzibah had stolen it to make a proper checklist for him, and now he went over her meticulous script, her way to write English so that he’d understand it faster than trying to translate her language. 

“I wish _Alex_ was going on this trip instead of _you_ ,” young Scott fussed as he carted another crate to the smaller craft they were taking with their father.  They had to deliver it... _somewhere_ that he’d never even _heard_ of.  It wasn’t as if he’d learned about space beyond the nine planets.  Only now, it wasn’t even nine planets because some asshat – he really liked the modern day swears that he was learning, mostly from Quentin and now from Professor Kitty and Illyana when they didn’t think the teenagers were listening – had decided that Pluto didn’t count, which made no sense to Scott, but apparently Hank could see their point. 

 _Asshat_. 

“No.  You don’t.  Alex has his moments, but he’s got a temper you haven’t seen yet.  He meddles, he gets himself into trouble.  He gets other people into trouble.  He’s got a mouth on him that makes Logan seem polite.  And he’s an asshole,” older Scott replied, still stung by the less than brotherly treatment he’d received from Alex since the whole Phoenix Five trauma.  He carried over a crate and set it next to the one his younger self had carried.  He moved back to the stacks. 

Young Scott scrunched up his nose and mouth and snapped out, “Dad!  Scott called Alex an asshole, and he’s being mean about him!” 

Corsair sighed and looked back at them then turned his head in time to see that familiar sway of hips and swish of tail coming toward them. 

“Scott, don’t call your brother an asshole,” he muttered back at the older version of his firstborn.  Though he didn’t really mean it.  Alex _could_ be an asshole, and a whiny one at that.  He didn’t know where his middle son had gotten that attitude from. 

Like the sixteen-year-old he was, young Scott stuck his tongue out at his older self, though he couldn’t see elder Scott roll his eyes behind his shades. 

“Whatever.  You go live with him for a while.  See what he’s really like.  Though you’ll have to remove Steve Rogers’ hand from our brother’s ass and see if Alex can still speak on his own,” older Scott retorted as he returned to the supply crates, grabbing two stacked on top of each other this time. 

“Hepzibah, I don’t think I’ll survive this trip,” Corsair grumbled and was rewarded with a kiss from his girlfriend. 

*

Two weeks later, Corsair questioned both his sanity and his ability to be a father.  He looked over at the older Scott helping out the younger Scott in learning how to read charts on the console in front of him while steering and maintaining all that a pilot was supposed to.  He leaned against the door frame between the bridge and the rest of the smaller ship, watching the two interact. 

“You’ve already told me that.  Stop repeating yourself,” the teenager complained while he white-knuckled the steering wheel...er...whatever. 

“I wouldn’t have to repeat myself if you’d concentrate.  Just because Vass wanted to talk to you doesn’t mean you get to take your eyes off of space completely.  Not until you’re much more used to this,” the adult replied. 

There was silence between the two selves for a moment, and Christopher thought his...sons...were going to at last achieve some sort of peace between them.  He’d read as much as he could on the events leading up to their being in the same time, and he hated that he couldn’t do a damned thing to fix it.  He wasn’t exactly Ward Cleaver...or Cliff Huxtable...or whomever the current Perfect Father Figure was on TV these days.  He started to smile...

“You know, it’s just this sort of... _thing_ that makes everyone think we’ve got sticks up our butts,” young Scott snarked at his older self, peeking over his shoulder, only to narrowly miss some sort of space debris when adult Scott cupped a hand on top of his head and firmly turned his face back toward the window. 

...and Corsair groaned and ducked back to take inventory for the millionth time. 

*

“So you really think Vass is cute?” 

Teen Scott and Adult Scott had taken up the two seats behind Corsair while their father piloted.  It had been a long four weeks, and he was looking forward to dropping off the last of the supplies as well as this ship and meeting up with _his_ ship and crew once more.  He needed more distance from his sons.  His temper was wearing thin, but at least today – so far – they were getting along.  He _thought_ young Scott had started to grasp that his future wasn’t quite as villainous as others had told him it was, and adult Scott had been patient and every bit the teacher he was before he’d had his life ripped away from him by the Avengers and the Phoenix.  Corsair started to relax...

“For an alien teenager, yeah, I’d say very cute, and I think you ought to cultivate that...friendship as best you can,” older Scott answered his younger self.  He recognized that part of his problem had been that when he was sixteen, there was only one girl he was around regularly.  Of course, he’d fallen for her, and of course, it had led to very bad things. 

Young Scott rolled his eyes under his visor.  “Friendship.  C’mon, Scott.  If you don’t think I should date her, say so.  I _like_ Vass.  She was fun to hang out with,” he stated. 

“Which is why I said cultivate that friendship.  Scott, you’re not going to be there all the time.  Date Vass when you two get to be together, but I don’t know how long you’re going to be on this trip with Dad...” 

“So you’re saying play the field.  Don’t be monogamous...don’t have a relationship...” 

Adult Scott groaned.  He never thought he’d have this conversation with himself.  Despite what those ridiculous online questionnaires always asked – what would you say to your sixteen-year-old self? – he never thought that he’d actually find himself in this position. 

“You’re sixteen.  At sixteen, _I_ spent too much time mooning over the same girl and planning our entire future in my mind.  I didn’t even think about dating other girls.  Gaining perspective.  Comparisons.” 

“Emma said I should never compare the women I was with to each other.  Surprisingly enough, Professor Kitty said the same thing...”  Teen Scott looked at his older self, who was staring back at him in what he could only assume was surprise. 

“ _You_ listened to advice from Emma?  I thought you were pretty dead set against her...or the very notion that your older self was in a meaningful, long-lasting relationship with her...” 

“Sorry.  I just never saw myself with anyone other than...”

“I know.  That’s why I’m telling you to date now.  Date several girls.  For fuck’s sake, Scott, date boys.”  He didn’t see their father’s arched eyebrow when he suggested the latter, though with a girlfriend like Hepzibah, he wouldn’t take his father for having prejudices.  “Date...trans girls...trans boys.  Just date a variety of people before you give your heart to one person for the rest of your life.  And do yourself a favor before you make a HUGE social faux pas.  Don’t assume Vass is a girl.  Ask what she...or he prefers to be identified as.”

The younger version of Scott Summers, who hadn’t even heard the terms ‘trans girls’ and ‘trans boys’ until he’d been yanked to the future to shame his older self – something that didn’t seem to have happened one bit – sat there and listened to his war-worn and aged self, actually listened to him and considered what he was saying as wisdom instead of something to ignore.  That still-indignant part of him that resented his older self for turning their future into a war-like hell wanted to be annoyed at the suggestion of not settling down with his first love.  The other part of him, the part that was growing up in a whole different environment than he’d ever dreamed of, appreciated he advice from himself. 

“Um...sure.  Okay.  I guess I see where you’re coming from,” teen Scott replied.  “Just...date other people and don’t just settle for the first person I like.” 

Older Scott tried very hard not to emphasize how much he agreed with his younger self’s use of the term ‘settling’.  Instead, he reached across and gave teen Scott an encouraging pat on the shoulder.  Which gave way to a playful poke to the side when his other self smiled.  He laughed when the kid squirmed. 

“Hey!” teen Scott exclaimed and poked adult Scott back. 

This led to the poke-and-tickle fight and shattered the peace Corsair had thought was settling into the craft finally.  Both of his sons were laughing and squealing, and that would have been good...

“Dad!  Scott won’t stop!” came the shrieked protest of a wiggling teenager, who’d started to sound more assaulted than playing around. 

Corsair felt that peace in his mind finally snap, and while he'd promised Hepzibah that he wouldn’t kill his sons or once more toss them out of the craft with only one space suit, in lieu of a parachute, he did growl and glare over his shoulder. 

“Scott Summers, stop touching yourself right this instant!  Don’t make me pull over!” 

Both Scotts, proving that one is never too old to be a twelve-year-old, burst out laughing, breaking months of tension right on the spot. 

Christopher Summers, space-pirate and out of his league father, groaned and started to wonder how much he could sell his children for at the next seedy space station. 

**Author's Note:**

> Like many, when I first read Cyclops #2, I made the assumption that Vass was a female identified character. I saw something today on Tumblr pointing out that in the comic, Vass is never gendered, leaving the door open to young Scott opening up his sexuality for more than just Jean-sexual (my words). Therefore, I made sure to tweak this fic to not gender Vass and to point out that adult Scott is really open-minded after all the experiences that he's had in life (probably mostly due to Emma's influence in his life).


End file.
